I don’t cook dinner very often. I think Jean prefers it that way. Her degree is in bio-chemistry. Not only is she smart, but she naturally thinks in terms of precision. Recipes are to be followed. If the instructions call for one cup of flour, she’ll measure exactly one cup. She’ll even use a knife to scrape off the excess, so the amount is perfect. I’ve even seen her add more if it’s not quite full.

If you’re a fan of home improvement shows, it’s hard not to love Chip and Joanna Gaines, the stars of the hit HGTV reality program “Fixer Upper.”

The couple has taken the television world by storm since the show first aired in 2013. And while they’re talented home renovators and savvy businesspeople, those aren’t the main reasons for their popularity.

Fans will happily tell you there’s something different about the Gaineses. They’re kind, funny, and devoted to their four young children.

Every week, nearly 6 million listeners tune in to the Focus on the Family Daily Broadcast. It’s still humbling for me to realize that so many people invite Focus – and, by extension, me as the program’s host – into their lives.

We love our listeners, and appreciate the feedback you give us. Whether you contact us by phone, email or on social media, we review every single opinion, comment and testimony, and we share it with relevant staff.

A father who visited psychologist Michael Anderson’s counseling office illustrates the shift in thinking many moms and dads need to make in their parenting.

The father said, “You wouldn’t believe what my daughter has become. In the last 90 days, she’s changed completely. She’ll do anything her friends tell her to do. She’s smoking. She’s drinking. She’s shoplifting.”

Michael asked him, “What was she like 90 days ago?”

“She was an A-student. She was in the church youth group and would do anything we told her to do.”

When was the last time you drove by a beautiful building and marveled, not at the architecture, but at the foundation?

I remember years ago when Focus on the Family added a new building to our campus right outside my office window.

I got to watch the construction process unfold from the first shovelful of dirt until the final brick was mortared into place nearly a year later. It was fascinating to see crane operators swing steel beams through the air and skilled craftsmen, day by day, transform the structure’s “bare bones” into a beautiful addition to our ministry complex.

No matter how strong your faith, the death of a spouse can rattle it. That’s how deeply a heart can be broken. The richer the love, the worse the suffering.

Tricia and Robb’s love was like that, thanks to God’s grace and a lot of hard work. Early on in their marriage, Tricia felt ungrateful for Robb. Over time, her ingratitude grew into openly criticizing him. His quirks and idiosyncrasies, once so charming, became irritating.

But Tricia and Robb got to work and built a strong and fulfilling marriage.

By now you may have heard that the actress Florence Henderson died last week on Thanksgiving Day. She was best known as Carol Brady, the “lovely lady … who met this fellow” on the iconic 1970s sitcom “The Brady Bunch.”

The show wasn’t a ratings hit during its initial run, but “The Brady Bunch” found its niche when it first aired in syndication in 1975. It’s been on the air ever since.

Some of that success is undoubtedly due to Henderson’s take on the family matriarch, which made Mrs.

In it, Glenn takes a look at a new, unique study from the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) that examined a wide array of high school students’ health behaviors in light of their sexual activity (virginal, heterosexual active, and same-sex or bisexually active).

The results are telling.

As Glenn writes, “The virginal students rate significantly and consistently better in nearly all health-related behaviors and measures than their sexually active teens,” and “teens who have sexual contact with the same or both sexes have remarkably lower percentages of healthy behaviors overall than their heterosexually active peers.”

And those behaviors range from binge drinking to illegal drugs, from dating violence to even tanning beds!

Before having children, women might think motherhood is the most natural role in the world. So what should a woman believe about herself when she feels like she doesn’t have what it takes to be a good mom?

The bar can seem impossibly high. Some moms have smooth pregnancies, and their babies might even take to breastfeeding easily. These mothers look completely content and patient with their children, never frustrated, never aspiring to goals or achievements outside of their family.

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Daly Focus

Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.